Madison school puts staff member on leave after bringing unloaded gun into building

June 3, 2022 8:38 AM

Jaymes Langrehr,

Posted: June 3, 2022 8:38 AM

Updated: June 3, 2022 12:29 PM

by Jaymes Langrehr

MADISON, Wis. — An independent secondary school in Madison says it has placed a staff member on leave after they brought an unloaded gun into the building earlier this week.

In a letter to parents and guardians, the Milestone Democratic School said a member of its staff brought a fully-licensed, concealed carry-permitted handgun into the school on Wednesday, June 1. The gun was not loaded and no one was threatened, the school said, calling it a “careless mistake.”

The school’s Board of Directors held a special meeting over the incident and referred it to local law enforcement, but the Board said it was certain there was no intent to harm. The staff member will be on suspended leave with pay until the situation is resolved by law enforcement, the school said.

Additionally, the school’s Educators’ Cooperative, an individual entity that is considered the staff member’s employer, decided to ban the staff member from the building and from interacting with students in any way until the situation is resolved.

“This will be a slow process, which is uncomfortable – but we will continue to work diligently and cautiously to protect everyone involved,” the Educators’ Co-op at Milestone Democratic School said in the letter explaining the situation to parents and guardians. “We also want to ask your respect for the process we are undertaking. It is a very serious process, and we will be very restricted in what we can share publicly.”

Milestone Democratic School, located on Dairy Drive in Madison, describes itself as an “independent, tuition-free, open-enrollment school” that serves students between 6th and 12th grade.